It's a longer road to Nicosia than it need be...

Thursday, October 7th.

The Prime Minister met, we had some time to kill before our next meeting, so it was an opportunity to visit a sixteenth century caravanserai in the heart of the old city, within the Venetian walls. The building now hosts outlets for local artists, and is in remarkably good condition. We were introduced to a woman who makes ceramic flowers, and I purchased two simple pendants for Ros (I'm still a romantic at heart.

However, we had more business to carry out, and it was off to the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture for our second meeting. The Minister was most gracious, answering our questions for nearly an hour.

The TRNC suffers from an absence of direct flights, with all flights from Ercan, Northern Cyprus's main airport, having to stop in Turkey before flying on to anywhere else. This causes significantly longer journey times (six hours from London) compared with those to Larnaca (four hours from London), and is an active deterrent for potential visitors. The Minister was keen to gain our support in the face of the legal barriers placed in the way of such direct flights.

I raised the issue of cruise ships, given the popularity of the Eastern Mediterranean for cruising, with sunshine, antiquities and varied cultures aplenty. And again, the TRNC is barred from this lucrative market.

Ros was keen to probe the Minister's intentions in terms of tourism development. The Republic of Cyprus is now heavily developed, some might say overdeveloped, and Ros holds strong views as to sustainability in this field. We were reassured by his commitment to retain that which makes Northern Cyprus special, although only time will tell if they can avoid the mistakes made across the Mediterranean region in the past.

Cyprus is not really equipped to support mass tourism. Water supplies are vulnerable, much of the resources used by tourists have to be imported, and the environment is potentially under threat. There is not a large potential labour pool available to service tourism, leading to immigration from elsewhere, and most of the jobs generated are lowly-paid, a problem when the State is keen to develop a better-educated workforce.

It was time for lunch, Hasan advised, so we bid farewell, and set off for the Golden Tulip Nicosia...